31 Day Challenge Day 26: Inspired by a pattern

Happy Friday!! Today's theme is inspired by a pattern.  I chose paisley, because I love paisley.  This really is an "inspired by" rather than a direct representation of paisley...I tried to freehand but it did NOT work!  I need to work on freehanding small details.  So I used a stamp that evokes paisley with it's swirls and dots.  I used Konad m64 which is one of my favorite nail stamping plates, I think it was the first one I bought to try out stamping!  I used Pure Ice French Kiss and Sally Hansen White On.  I love the combination of royal blue and white.

26 days down 5 to go!  Only a few days left!  :-)

31 Day Challenge Day 15: Delicate Print

Today's theme is delicate print.  I used Konad plate m73 for this.  OPI Russian Navy was the base color with Sally Hansen Celeb City for the stamping.  It showed up really well in person, but was really hard to capture on camera.

You can kind of see the print better at an angle...I think.

15 days down, 16 to go!  :-)

31 Day Nail Challenge Day 8: Metallic Nails

Good Evening!  Today is metallic nails, and I used one of my favorite metallic polishes, Orly Rage.  Quick question: how do y'all pronounce Orly?  In my head I say it like this:

But then I heard someone say it differently on a YouTube video about fish egg nails so now I'm curious.  

Anyway.

I used Orly Rock-It as an accent finger, then stamped with a BM plate in Rage.  I looooove Rock-It!! I picked up a couple of the Mineral FX line last week and it's the only one I've tried so far.  But it is so pretty.   It goes on so smoothly, it's nearly opaque in one coat, and it is super shimmery.  I can't wait to try the others.  I do feel like top coat dulls it a little, which is strange.  

8 Days down 23 to go!

31 Day Challenge Day 7: Black and White

Hello!  Today is day 7 in the 31 day challenge and the theme is black and white nails.  I used a base coat of Sally Hansen White On and then stamped Konad Special Black over it with plate m73.  I smudged the stamp SO BAD. But you can still kind of see it was music notes?  Then I used black Stripe Rite to frame the nails because it seemed like it needed something else.  I'd wanted to try framing for so long, this was my first try at it.  My lines are kind of wobbly, but I like the effect!

I have GOT to find a better white polish, I really hate this one.  Any suggestions for one that doesn't apply like white out?

7 days down 24 to go!

Easter Skittles

Happy Easter!  This is what's on my nails today.  I used 1 color per nail and then stamped with Sally Hansen White On using a Red Angel plate over it.

ALSO!!! I ordered a Julep Spring Mystery box.  Did anyone else?  The preview of one on Facebook had a $50 gift card in it.  I can't wait to see what's in mine.  :-)

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Colors Used: Sally Hansen White On, Mellow Yellow, Green with Envy, Lacey Lilac; Sinful Colors Why Not, OPI Strawberry Margarita
Technique: Stamping
Purchased: Sally at Target, SC at Walgreens, OPI at VyVys.
Verdict on the colors: I didn't think I liked pastels, but I actually think the purple, green, and yellow look really nice.  The other two are colors I already had and liked.  :-)

"Vintage Fabric" Manicure

I had this manicure in mind the minute I saw Molly and Alyson in the Julep April Maven lineup.  Alyson is an almond colored creme and is not something I think I would ever wear on it's own, but as a base for stamping I really like it!  Unlike some of the other Julep polishes I've tried this one definitely needs two coats.  Then I stamped Molly over it using plate RA-109.  Then I used some french tip guides to do the tips.  I'm really happy with how this one turned out, it has kind of a vintage upholstery look about it.  My top coat bubbled horribly on a couple nails but it would up just contributing to the antique look so I'm ok with it.

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Colors Used: Julep Molly and Alyson
Technique: Stamping
Purchased: Julep Maven.
Verdict on the colors: Alyson good as a base but wouldn't wear it on it's own.  Molly is pretty and stamped very well!

Hunger Games Week: Day 4

Today I actually have a Hunger Games THEME instead of just using the colors :-)  I have a fishing manicure using District 4, the fishing district's polish: Hook and Line.  I stamped fish scales on all but my ring finger, using Smoke and Ashes.  I stamped a fish skeleton on my ring fingers.  Then I used Northern Lights Holographic top coat to make the scales look shiny and approximate real scales.  I really like the end result, but I have to say I am NOT a fan of Hook and Line.  Did anyone else have a problem with this polish?? It was so streaky and thick!  I feel like if I hadn't used my fast dry top coat it would have taken forever to dry and even then been one of those polishes that will dent even after it's dry.  So yeah...not a fan.  But I do like the end result here.

I pressed too hard and kind of messed up my middle finger...

I like my fishy.  I was outside trying to get the last of the sun but it started to drizzle.  The water drops fit though.

The fish on my right hand went kind of more diagonal.  Lately my right hand has been looking better than my left, which is so weird!

Today I bought Electrify and Agro, so the only Capitol Color I'm missing is Mahogany Magic.  I wasn't going to buy either Agro or Mahogany Magic, but at this point I feel compelled to finish the collection. I'm going to do a fire-y water marble to go see the movie with my Dad and sister on Saturday using Electrify, Smoke and Ashes, and Riveting; so I should have that tomorrow.




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Colors Used: China Glaze Hook and Line & Smoke and Ashes
Technique: Stamping, Red Angel plates RA111 & RA 107
Purchased: Polishes at Sally, plates on Amazon
Verdict on the colors: Surprisingly the first China Glaze I'm not happy with!  Hook and Line was streaky and thick.  I do love Smoke and Ashes and it stamped well!

Happy St Patrick's Day (what's left of it)

Sorry this first picture is all kinds of out of focus, I thought I was transferring the in focus one from my SD card and didn't realize I'd grabbed the wrong one until I deleted the other.  :-/  This is actually the 2nd St Patty's manicure I did.  The first was a white, green, and gold argyle one but it was so uneven I just took it off and started over.  I really liked how this one turned out for the most part.  The dark green underneath made the white tips turn pale green, so it's very festive for today.

Also, I got a new camera today!  The super macro mode is excellent.

Happy St Patrick's Day!! Who's drinking a green beer?  :-)

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Colors Used: Sinful Colors San Francisco, Sally Hansen White On and Golden-1
Technique: Stamping, tip strips
Purchased: Walgreens (SC), Kroger (SH)
Verdict on the colors: Love San Francisco.  Not fond of White On...need to find a new basic white.

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

My first Pink Wednesday!  Mean Girls memes make me about as happy as anything.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!


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Colors Used: Base Color: China Glaze Make an Entrance. Middle coat: Northern Lights Silver top coat.  Stamping: Sally Hansen White On
Technique: Stamping BM 11
Purchased: Northern Lights and China Glaze at Sally, Sally Hansen at Kroger
Verdict on the colors: The white isn't as opaque as I'd like for a stamping polish, but I really liked the other two.  Make an Entrance is really pretty by itself, but I thought the Northern Lights added a little je ne sais quoi.

CAPITOL COLORS!

Here is my first Capitol Colors manicure!  The day after I brought them home I did a quick swipe of all of them over my nails, and decided from that I wanted to use Dress Me Up and Stone Cold together.  I love the look of glossy/matte combos, so I wanted to do something there.  First, here is a swatch of Dress Me Up.  I love this one, it's neutral and elegant looking without being boring.  It's a little pinker than this picture shows, I think I would call it a dusty rose.

Aaaaand here it is with Stone Cold stamped over it!  I used a BM20 plate, and as many, many other bloggers have pointed out, the first set of Bundle Monster plates have smaller "whole nail" images that don't really provide full nail coverage.  In this case, I think the fast drying matte polish also contributed to the stamp not stamping the entire way.  On my smaller nails the stamp is definitely big enough, but even moving quickly it was dry by the time I stamped.  It was a little like if you took a roll of corrector tape and tried to use that to stripe your nail.  Despite that, I really like this manicure and I LOVE the way these two colors play together.

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Colors Used: China Glaze Dress Me Up and Stone Cold
Technique: BM20
Purchased: Sally
Verdict on the colors: Love both of them.  I think Stone Cold might be my new favorite.  My finger nail looks like it's made of smooth asphalt.  Love love love.

Purple Star

I was looking for a base color to use with a silver star stamp and realized I hadn't tried my Finger Paints Be a Pal-ette yet!  I thought I had read good things about this brand on other blogs, but I was really unimpressed with the formula/application.  I wonder if I got a bad bottle?  It was streaky and dried super fast, which left worse streaks when I dragged the brush through tacky polish.  It somewhat smoothed out by the 3rd coat.  I'm disappointed in what a pain it was to apply because I love the color!  It's such a pretty shade of purple with little glitter flecks.  I also REALLY liked it with Celeb City stamped over it, and then I went and added a top coat and messed it all up.  My NYC shiny top coat is apparently getting old, and it bubbled.  I will probably try this color combo again with a new top coat.  :-)

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Colors Used: Finger Paints Be a Pal-ette (base), Sally Hansen Celeb City (stamp)
Technique: BM05
Purchased: Finger Paints at Sally, Celeb City at Kroger or CVS
Verdict on the colors: Irritated with the application on Be a Pal-ette, but I loved the color so much I'll use again.  Celeb City is still one of my favorite stamping polishes!!